New Labor Law Class Action Complaints Regain Sole Possession Of Top Spot In Weekly Class Action Filings In California State And Federal Courts

To assist defense attorneys in California predict the type of cases against which they may have to defend, we provide weekly, unofficial summaries of the legal categories for new class action lawsuits filed in California state and federal courts in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, San Diego, San Mateo, Oakland/Alameda and Orange County areas. We include only those categories that include 10% or more of the class action filings during the relevant timeframe. This report covers the time period from August 10 – August 16, 2007, during which time 46 new class action cases were initiated in these California state and federal courts. Generally, class action cases alleging employment law violations top the list, often by a wide margin, and this past week labor law class actions surged from the prior week. While only 9 new labor law class action had been filed for our last report, this past week 20 new class action complaints were filed alleging employment law claims, representing 43% of the total number of new class actions filed last week. New class actions alleging violations of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) also saw an increase, with 13 new class action complaints filed (28%). The only other category to meet the 10% threshold involved class actions alleging securities law violations, with 5 new filings (11%).

Michael J. Hassen's litigation practice spans almost 30 years and emphasizes general business and commercial litigation, including class action defense and unfair business practice representative actions (section 17200).

He represents lenders in all facets of lender litigation, ranging from class actions and unfair business practices based on alleged "predatory" lending and RESPA violations or alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, to claims alleging elder abuse or challenging the validity or priority of liens.

Michael also has significant experience in business torts such as misappropriation of trade secrets and raiding of corporate employees, ADA claims, and all phases of commercial and real estate finance, construction finance and construction defect claims.

He is experienced in appellate matters, having had primary responsibility for preparing more than 100 appellate briefs.